How A Stroke Opened A World

Jill Bolte Taylor shares the experience she had after a stroke

Our brain is fascinating in its interaction of neurons and hemispheres. How elaborate particularly the interplay between the two hemispheres becomes obvious during brain injury. It is a balance between me and we, now and then. This week we do not have an objective study, but rather a shared experience and very subjective experience for our readers: a shift between the left and the right hemisphere being in control, a shift between the me and we, the now and then.

After a massive stroke, neuroscientist Jill Bolte Taylor experiences how her left and right hemisphere take turns in being in command of her perception and actions. She shares the experience she had this day, shifting between – on the one hand – being in the here and now, feeling totally connected with the world while being unable to read, write, or talk and – on the other hand – feeling as an individual who can communicate in talking and writing, who can form concepts and who is able to plan her future. She tells a fascinating and extremely detailed story of what this feels like.

We think there is not much that we can add. What she shares is definitely an idea worth spreading.

About the Author

Dr Katharina Lochner is the former research director for the cut-e Group which was acquired by Aon in 2017. Katharina is now a researcher and lecturer at the University of Applied Sciences Europe in Iserlohn, Germany. In her role at cut-e, she applied the research in organizational and work psychology to real-world assessment practice. She has a strong expertise in the construction and evaluation of online psychometric tools.